Failing
by MissDomaYuset
Summary: "You kind of fail at being evil Zim," Dib says in a low voice. "So... Why not try being good?"  character death?


**For a contest on DA~**

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**Cutting sorta close… Deadline is today.**

**So, whether these two live or not is up to you. Enjoy!**

It was another hot day of summer. For one reason or another, Dib had dragged Zim out with him to Science Camp. Obviously it was another of his hair brained schemes to expose Zim in front of hundreds of intelligent scientist and scientists-to-be. He dared Zim into coming along, telling him that perhaps he was too _scared_. And that he would look so _out of place_, staying cooped up in his base all summer while all the other kids were outside having fun.

Well, Zim was never one to back down from a challenge.

He came along, bickering with Dib the whole time about this and that. They quickly and easily became quite hated by the whole camp; which was fine for the two boys, as they seemed to be quite used to being hated by everyone.

The camp was located in a special park, with a clichéd lodge cabins, dining halls and a large lake. The lake was mostly used for water experiments like underwater robotic cameras or remote controlled motor boats. But naturally, the campers were more interested in using it as a swimming hole. This made Zim nervous, and made a point of taking most of his fights with Dib as far away from the lake as possible.

And strangely enough, Dib never pressured Zim into getting near the lake. This was confusing to Zim, but he never questioned it.

Then one fateful evening, when the campers were all settling down around the fireplace Zim huddled himself into lodge cabin, into his scratchy bunk bed. He had no interest in staring at a primitive fire, listening to all the other worm babies' brag about their pathetic accomplishments for the day.

He was forced to keep his awful wig on all day and night… He regretting coming along, but he wasn't about to leave because of a slight discomfort. As an Invader, he dealt with far worse…

"Zim, what the hell are you doing?"

Zim shot up into a sitting postion, to see it was Dib that had rudely interrupted him from his 'alone time'. Growling lightly, Zim grabbed his pillow and threw it at the boys face. "Go back to the fire DIB, I'm resting!"

Dib caught the pillow, huffing slightly in frustration. "Yeah right, I bet you have some kind of brain melting device under your sheets," he said.

Zim rolled his eyes and lifted his blanket to show the human that there was no such device. Not that he didn't try to build one, but his resources were limited. The best he could do was a bomb, and that wasn't Zim's style at all. Dib seemed to be a little disappointed to see that all there was under the covers was just Zim's little body coved in his normal Invader uniform. "See? Nothing. Now, get your stupid face away from Zim."

"Do you really have to sleep in your uniform?" Dib grumbled, sitting in the bed opposite from Zim. It wasn't his assigned bed, but the boy who does sleep there wasn't back yet.

"Of course!" Zim snapped. "Now kindly shut up and go away!" As if the boy expected him to shed his clothing in front of unworthy eyes and into thin flimsy garments that will tear away in a fight? An Invader must be prepared for battle at all times. Dib did not hold this same philosophy as he was in nothing more than boxer shorts and a stupid wife beater. And to further his point of wanting to be left alone, he slammed his body back onto his bed with a 'flop', back turned to Dib. Why should he explain why he remained in his uniform at all hours of the day to the boy?

Dib realized he was still holding Zim's pillow. Sighing, he tosses back onto Zim's bed, landing on his legs. "Zim…" he starts off, in a low voice. "You're really not good at this… Invasion thing, are you?"

Zim stiffened. "Shut up Dib, Zim is good at everything," he growled. He pulls the covers over his head as if to shut off the world around him.

"It's been two years Zim… I don't mean to play myself down, but don't you think it's strange that a twelve year old was able to thwart the plans of a-"

"Shut UP Dib-Stink, unless you want me to rip your stupid, smelly hair off and shove it down your noise tube!" Zim screamed, tightening himself into a ball under his covers. He was breathing heavily now, twitching with anger.

Dib looked down at his bare feet, feeling a dejected. "I'm just saying…"

"DIB! SHUT UP!" Zim yelled again, "Do you have dirt in your ears?"

Dib pressed on. "…That maybe…"

"SHUT UP!"

"…You could just…"

Zim threw the blankets off himself and glared at Dib murderously. "I said shut up! Shut up!" Why did Dib insist on bothering him so much? Why couldn't he run off with the other worm babies and leave him alone? What business has he to question Zim's slow pace in advancing with his mission?

"…Live here peacefully?" Dib finally finished. He did not meet Zim's gaze. But his words did finally silence the Irken if not for just a few mere seconds. "You sorta fail at being evil, so why not try being good?"

Zim's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "If you do not leave, you'll soon fail at breathing," he threatened in a low venomous snarl.

Dib shrugged, obviously not too affected by Zim's threats. "Whatever Zim," he sighed, getting to his feet. He walks down to the other side of the room and crawled into his bed. He was asleep within seconds, unlike Zim, who was kept awake throughout the night thanks to that distracting conversation…

**xXx**

The next morning, Zim was awoken to the sounds of the older children whooping and hollering like apes on the outside. Grumbling, he tried to shut the noise out, but that was impossible. You could not block out noise, no matter how hard you tried. Giving up rather quickly, Zim tiredly crawled out of bed. He continued to listen to the noises that boys were making as he slipped on his boots. Eventurally, he was able to pick words apart.

'_Daddy's boy!'_

'_Freak'_

'_Gay lord~'_

'_Let me go!'_

'_Time for a bath!'_

Zim frowned… Was that Dib's voice amongst the others? If so… He didn't sound nearly as happy as those other maggots. He got to his feet and went out to investigate.

He peeked around the corner to see Dib being pulled by the arms and legs by a small group of older boys toward the lake, obviously bulling Dib for either being the smallest or for being the son of the great Professor Membrane. Dib was helpless, but he stubbornly fought against their grasps, calling them all awful names. This just made the boys laugh even harder.

Zim turned around, to go back to his bed. Nothing he hasn't seen already… But his path was blocked by another boy. He looked incredibly stupid, how he got into the camp was beyond Zim. The boy laughed and picked Zim up by his shoulders. "You just gonna leave your friend alone, eh freak?" he teased.

"Don't touch me!" Zim screeched as he slammed his boot into the boys face. The boy screamed out in pain and threw Zim into the dirt as he tended to his wounds.

"Fucking psycho!" he sputtered, caressing his bleeding cheek. Zim smirked and scrambled to his feet. He couldn't use his spider legs, because that would expose him. But he could fight… he's been itching for a fight.

One of the boys left Dib to go after Zim. "What is WRONG with you kid?" he yelled. Zim focused on this kid, ready to doge whatever punch was thrown at him.

But… He forgot about the boy he _just_ kicked in the face. The injured boy reacted violently, as he picked up a rock and threw it at Zim's head. Zim fell down, hurt, but still conscious. Before he could react, the other boys began exacting their revenge by kicking and yelling at the small invader. Zim kept his eyes open stubbornly, glaring at these filthy children. He could easily kill them all with his spider legs, but there were cameras.

He would have been exposed. For now… he'll have to take it.

Zim squinted his eyes to see Dib, now ignored by the boys thanks to him. He seemed confused, almost loudly assuming that Zim purposely _helped_ him._ 'He better not misunderstand…' _Zim thought furiously to himself.

But Dib did. He ran up to one of the boys, and pulled him back by his shoulder. Zim's eyes widened as Dib planted a punch to the boys face. The boy reared back, holding his nose. Dib had broken it!

But he also escalated things. The group left Zim to go after their original target. Zim got to his feet weakly as they started dragging Dib down to the docks, only this time, much more violently.

They weren't playing around this time.

Dib cried out in protest as the boys heaved Dib into the lake. This would have been fine… Dib was a good swimmer. He'll just swim up to shore, and Zim will walk up and start yelling at Dib for dragging him into this mess.

But when Dib was thrown, his head made a sickening cracking sound against the edge of the docks. The throw wasn't good. The boys stared in horror as Dib's limp body tumbled into the murky water, sinking like a rock.

'_That's fine,'_ Zim thought to himself. '_They will surely go after him…'_

But they didn't. Like children who broke a window during a game of catch, the old boys fled from the site. "Cowards!" Zim screamed. But they soon disappeared into the mess hall for breakfast.

Zim quickly made his way to the docks and peered over the edge. He couldn't see Dib. At all. The lake was supposed to have a huge dip a foot or two from where the docks end… what if Dib fallen there? He shook his head and waited for Dib's large head to pop up from the water, spitting out algae, and screaming at Zim to help him out.

But seconds crept by and no such even occurred. Zim felt his claws digging into the water damaged boards of wood in anticipation. What if… What if…

'_You sorta fail at being evil…'_

Zim clenched his eyes shut. He should be happy. He should be cheering. Dib was drowning in the very liquid that he hated so much. He was dying in what was possibly one of the only weaknesses of Irken Kind.

But he felt himself wanting Dib to swim to the top. He wanted him alive.

'_So…'_

If Dib wasn't coming out on his own…

He'll force him out.

Without a further thought, he jumped into the water, only to find himself backing up to the surface, clinging to the wooden pillar that kept the docks supported. The water burned. Badly. He wheezed in pain, shaking in agony. He couldn't find any private time to cover himself in glue. There was never any privacy in this horrible camp…

He eyes the water again and puts on a determined look. No, he will not give up that easily. Dib was his enemy… _His._ Not this lake's. He notices his wig floating away, out of his grasp. Well… If his wig is gone, there was no reason to keep his contacts on. Quickly, he popped them off and tossed them aside.

He might as well be as comfortable as possible before going back into that acidic pool.

'…_Why not…'_

He held his breath and dove back into the filthy water. Biting past the pain, Zim soon found himself nearing sinking down to the bottom of the lake headfirst. This was good, wasn't?

His PAK seemed to disagree. Zim was thrown into a mini spasm as the machinery causing his mouth to open up to let out a silent scream. The water wasted no time spilling into his mouth, tearing up his gums and throat. Zim noticed a cloud of blood flowing out of his mouth and wondered if he should give up and float to the top.

But at that very moment, he see's Dib. He was still sinking. There was still a small, frail chance… Of what? Returning to the bickering and fighting? Zim wasn't sure of his reasons, but Dib was still there. Still drowning. Still there.

Zim felt another rush of determination as he thrashed his arms forwards, trying to grasp at Dib's limp pale hands.

He was so close…

So close…

A pained smile broke out as he finally managed to touch Dib's index finger with his own.

'…_try being good?'_


End file.
